Innocent Yang Chen

The bodyguards outside the room recognised Lin Ruoxi and Yang Chen as they had met in the past. The bodyguards nodded and opened the door for them.

As Lin Ruoxi entered the room, Yang Chen stopped and hesitated. He took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes that he usually smoked, from the pocket of his coat and had a look at the remains before sighing in relief. Smilingly, he pulled out the remaining two cigarettes and handed over, one with each hand, to the two bodyguards.

“Being a doorkeeper isn’t easy, you guys have done exemplary work. Have a cigarette and relax,” Yang Chen spoke in Korean with a smile.

It wasn’t the first time for the two bodyguards to receive cigarettes from other people. However, it was definitely their first time getting such low-quality tobacco. Because they had to behave politely, they couldn’t refuse and all they could do was to accept the cigarettes reluctantly as they smiled awkwardly while giving thanks.

Lin Ruoxi who was walking in front turned around and saw that scene. She instantly felt the urge to bury the thick-skinned man deep into the ground!

“What are you doing?” Lin Ruoxi couldn’t hold back and stared at Yang Chen with her beautiful looking face.

Yang Chen let out an innocent cry, “Ahh!” He explained, “You told me to build a good relations with Yoo Yeonhee. So I figured the first place to start would be the bodyguards. I’m just giving them two cigarettes. I would have bought another two packet of cigarettes if I had known about this earlier. Now that I had given them the last two cigarettes, there aren’t any left for me.”

Looking at Yang Chen’s gloomy face, Lin Ruoxi no longer knew how to communicate with him. All she could do was take a deep breath to calm herself down. She then turned around and continued walking inside.

Yang Chen rubbed his nose helplessly and thought, You can’t blame me for that, can you? I only have this cheap stuff on me right now. Either way, mass consumption is nothing to look down on. However, he quickly followed up to Lin Ruoxi.

After bypassing a barrier, they finally get to see the main person of the concert Yoo Yeonhee.

Yoo Yeonhee was seated in front of a mirror and was getting her final touch up done by a hairstylist. Although the long black hair was seemingly tied up in a simple way, the truth was, it took a lot of effort in order for it to look fashionable and yet simple.

The staff were busy walking around preparing for the concert that no one paid too much attention to the entry of Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi.

Instead, Yoo Yeonhee was the one who saw Lin Ruoxi and Yang Chen from the mirror. She waved her hand to signal her hairstylist to stop.

Yoo Yeonhee stood up from her seat as her hairstylist stepped back. She looked dazzling in the sexy pinkish-white dress. Her snowy white shoulders, her towering upper body and even her smooth legs were all finely crafted artwork.

Even if Yang Chen didn’t have a favorable impression for this woman, he had to admit that if she had looked like this with no cosmetic surgery, then she was born very exceptional looking.

It was a shame that Lin Ruoxi who was wearing an old-fashioned suit, without any makeup didn’t look much inferior to Yoo Yeonhee. That was probably why Yoo Yeonhee looked this pale and weak at the moment despite being dressed up in such a grand manner.

Yoo Yeonhee who saw Lin Ruoxi naturally realized the difference between them. Evidently, her sensitive heart were making her feel uneasy but she didn’t present it on the outside. Instead, she walked towards them smilingly with her irritation buried in her heart.

“The manager told me that Boss Lin and Director Yang of Yu Lei International will be coming over to cheer me on. Although we’ve had our differences in the past, I still want to thank the two of you for paying a visit,” Yoo Yeonhee said.

“Miss Yoo, don’t let the misunderstandings between us affect our relationship. There will be a lot of opportunities for us to collaborate in the future. Being the sponsor of the event, it’s only appropriate that we’re here,” Lin Ruoxi said faintly before turning her head to signal Yang Chen.

Yang Chen smiled bitterly in his heart as he walked towards to greet Yoo Yeonhee. “I hope that your concert will be a successful one.”

The corner of her mouth raised slightly as if she had gotten her pride back. Smiling, she said, “I hope you mean it.”

“Miss Yoo, you must be kidding. I’m never a hypocrite,” Yang Chen answered with a smile.

Yoo Yeonhee’s smile was slightly stiff. Yang Chen was obviously being sarcastic and he wasn’t planning to take his words back.

The concert was just around the corner and Yoo Yeonhee knew that it wasn’t the time to argue. She turned around to a female assistant who had been waiting for her beside and said, “Ying Li, bring me three glasses of champagne.”

The average-looking female assistant called Ying Li was wearing a black professional uniform. She seemed to be extremely respectful towards Yoo Yeonhee as she dared not to raise her head when facing her. Without delay, she agreed to her request.

“Although we normally drink champagne for celebration after the concert, I don’t believe that you will be here for that. So let’s have a drink now as a token of appreciation for your visit,” Yoo Yeonhee said with a smile.

Her words sounded polite but she was clearly asking them to leave immediately upon finishing the drink.

Lin Ruoxi wasn’t annoyed by Yoo Yeonhee’s attitude. Instead, she looked at Yang Chen, feeling a little worried. Originally, she thought that Yang Chen would be disgusted. However, Yang Chen seemed to be thinking about something absent-mindedly at the moment.

Yang Chen realised that Lin Ruoxi was glaring at him doubtfully. He smiled while shaking his head. “It’s nothing. I’m just thinking of Miss Yoo’s consideration.”

Although Lin Ruoxi didn’t believe that Yang Chen would be thinking about something like that, she didn't ask.

After a while, the female assistant Ying Li returned with three glasses of crystal-clear champagne on a tray. The aroma of the champagne filled the surrounding.

Being the hostess, Yoo Yeonhee was about to pick up a glass of champagne when Yang Chen suddenly grab the goblet from her.

“Aye! Miss Yoo, this glass of champagne looks good. Let me have a try first.” Yang Chen grabbed the goblet unceremoniously and poured the champagne into his mouth.

Yoo Yeonhee scowled at him and said, “It’s good that Director Yang enjoys it so much.”

Yang Chen put down the empty goblet and giggled. “It tastes quite good. Why not I finish these two as well, no?”

Upon finishing his words, Yang Chen picked up the two glasses of champagne, one at each hand and poured them into his mouth in front of the two women.

Ying Li who was standing beside finally lifted her head upon watching Yang Chen’s act. She was dumbfounded by what she had witnessed.

Lin Ruoxi was somewhat annoyed. She didn’t understand what was wrong with Yang Chen. They could’ve left upon finishing the drinks and they would have fulfilled their purpose of visiting. Does this man have to make things any more stiff than it already is?

However, Lin Ruoxi didn’t have much time to think about it. Yang Chen suddenly had a painful look on his face with his facial expressions tangled up. He furrowed his brows tightly and his face began to turn pale.

“Ahh!” A loud painful howl echoed. Yang Chen suddenly held onto his abdomen with his eyes widened as he fell on the ground.

Lin Ruoxi and Yoo Yeonhee were stunned by the sudden change in Yang Chen. Yang Chen who was previously fine had both his hands pressing against the ground and his body was shivering as if he was possessed by a demon!

“Ya—Yang Chen!” Lin Ruoxi who had regained her awareness hurriedly knelt down before Yang Chen. Lin Ruoxi panicked so much that her poise had crumbled. Her face turned pale from the lack of blood.

Yang Chen could hardly lift his head. His eyes were red and his white lips trembled. “Poi—poison… cham—champagne,” Yang Chen stammered and gasped.

Clang! Clang!

A continuous sound echoed. It was the sound of the tray from the assistant Ying Li falling to the ground and the glass being shattered into pieces.

Ying Li looked extremely shocked at the event. She swallowed her saliva but couldn’t speak. Her body started to tremble as if her guilt had taken control of her actions. She was whispering from her mouth but not a single word could be heard.

The situation had attracted all the attention of the staff from the dressing room. With Yang Chen lying on the floor and Ying Li looking extremely miserable, everyone was as puzzled as they were curious.

Yoo Yeonhee finally put two and two together after coming out of shock. She turned her head abruptly over to the assistant Yang Li. Her elegant face was somewhat distorted in an instant.

Slap! Yoo Yeonhee delivered a loud slap to Ying Li, causing her to fall on the floor!

“You evil woman! How dare you poison me!” Yoo Yeonhee was so angry that she had forgotten to speak in Mandarin and started to swear in Korean.

The others slowly came to the realisation that Ying Li was the one trying to poison Yoo Yeonhee, but somehow harmed a guest instead.

Ying Li was completely swept off her feet after she received a hard slap from Yoo Yeonhee. She held onto her burning red cheek and started crying. “Miss Yoo, I—I’m sorry… I had no choice. The lives of my entire family were at stake here.”

“Just because of this, you’re going to poison me as instructed by that person?! What makes you think you are safe even after I die?!” Yoo Yeonhee who was burning in anger gave Ying Li a kick on the chest.

The heel on her high heels caused severe pain on Ying Li’s chest, causing her to cough out blood. The pain was so unbearable that she couldn’t speak.

The bodyguards on the outside finally rushed in. Looking at the chaotic scene, they immediately expelled all the unrelated people effectively out of the dressing room and promptly warned them against spreading this news.

In fact, most of them had been too frightened to violate the bodyguards’ warning, fearing that they themselves would become the victim. After all, cases like murder usually involved secrets that shouldn't be spread out.

Ying Li fainted after being kicked by Yoo Yeonhee a few times in the chest. Covered with blood, she was dragged directly into another room by a strong bodyguard.

Just when Yoo Yeonhee stabilized her emotions, she remembered there was the ‘innocent’ Yang Chen who was at the scene. She then realised that Yang Chen who had three glasses of the poisonous liquor had vanished from the floor.

“Are you looking for me?”

Yoo Yeonhee turned her head as she heard Yang Chen’s voice coming from behind. To her surprise, she saw Yang Chen sitting at the dresser acting like usual, as if nothing had happened. He greeted her like usual and there were no signs of him getting poisoned.

Lin Ruoxi who was so frightened that she almost teared while ago was standing right beside Yang Chen with a stern face as if she wanted to eat him up. Evidently, she was very angry.

“How did yo—you... Didn’t you...” Yoo Yeonhee spoke incoherently. She initially thought that Yang Chen was dead. After all, if the poison was meant for her, the murderer wouldn’t have provided the time for treatment. However, the situations that she was facing were like illusions since Yang Chen was totally fine.

“The reason why I’m still alive isn’t important.” Yang Chen shook his finger and asked, “Miss Yoo, I think what we need to talk about is—who is trying to kill you? After all, your aggressor had almost taken us with you.”